Decade's End II: This Time It's Serious

[koganbot]

All right, if all goes well I'm writing a decade's end music essay for the LVW, though this endeavor will have a breath-taking finish given that, for some reason, Las Vegas ends its decade on December 4 rather than December 31, which means my drop-dead deadline is probably the 1st, if not earlier. And I'm going to be on planes for part of the time between now and then. And I have something else due on the 2nd.

One thing I want is for the essay to allude to the multitude of such essays that my essay could have been but isn't. So you can help me by posting in the comments what you think the story of the decade in music is. Just list one.

In situations like this I wish I did Twitter. If those Twitterers among you wish to ask the question and paste in the answers here, please do.

Comments

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

So much has changed this decade - who has managed to stay a 'constant'? Or to phrase that better, who has maintained a constant presence/level of popularity over the last ten years? My first thought is the Mickey Mouse kids who just wedged their foot in the door in the late 90's going 'RIGHT we're here to stay', but at what price? Britney went mad, Justin's had diminishing returns since Futuresexxx, Xtina has sunk back into the comfy arms of pastiche (but so did Madonna in the early 90s)(what about Madonna)(what about KYLIE).

So perhaps an even better question: who has SURVIVED the decade of downloads/chart madness/record label idiocy? How?